Mr Soros comments have infuriated both the government and the opposition in India. During a speech ahead of the Munich security conference, he highlighted the recent Adani Group crisis and said PM Modi “has to answer questions” from foreign investors and Parliament on allegations of fraud and stock manipulation against the billionaire’s companies.
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George Soros HonFBA is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. As of March 2021, he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations, of which $15 billion has already been distributed, representing 64% of his original fortune.
The 92-year-old philanthropist is one of the wealthiest men in the world. He was born into a prosperous Jewish family that left Hungary (when he was 17) when the Nazis arrived, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. In 1947, they reached London, where Mr Soros studied philosophy at the London School of Economics.
After his studies, he joined the London merchant bank Singer & Friedlander. In 1956, Mr Soros moved to New York, where he worked initially as an analyst of European securities, as per Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Mr Soros made his mark in the financial world by making bold investment decisions after establishing a hedge fund in 1973. He managed client money from 1969 to 2011. As per Forbes, Mr Soros shorted the British pound and reportedly made a profit of $1 billion. He became known as the man who broke the Bank of England, the outlet further said.
Mr Soros comments have infuriated both the government anf the opposition in India. During a speech ahead of the Munich security conference, he highlighted the recent Adani Group crisis and said PM Modi “has to answer questions” from foreign investors and Parliament on allegations of fraud and stock manipulation against the billionaire’s companies.
He also said that the this will “significantly weaken Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government” and open the door to push for much-needed institutional reforms. “I may be naive, but I expect a democratic revival in India,” said Mr Soros.
Union minister Smriti Irani called it an “attack on India that would not be tolerated” and called upon Indians to unitedly respond to “foreign powers who try to intervene in India’s democratic processes”. She also called the billionaire a “designated economic war criminal”.
People Like George Soros Cannot Determine India’s Electoral Outcome: Congress
Staff Reporter / New Delhi
The Congress on Friday said whether the Adani issue sparks a democratic revival in the country depends entirely on the grand old party and other opposition parties, and it has nothing to do with billionaire investor George Soros.
The party’s remarks after Soros said the turmoil engulfing Gautam Adani’s business empire may open the door to a democratic revival in the country.
“Whether the ‘PM-linked Adani scam’ sparks a democratic revival in India depends entirely on the Congress, Opposition parties and our electoral process. It has nothing to do with George Soros,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter.
“Our Nehruvian legacy ensures people like Soros cannot determine our electoral outcomes,” he also said.
The BJP has, however, hit out at Soros saying the investor has attacked not only Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also India.
The Congress has been demanding a JPC probe into the allegations against the Adani Group by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research.